In a wide-ranging interview with multiple new developments, Amanda Knox sits down with CNN’s Chris Cuomo to answer tough questions about the case against her and retrial, theories of Italian police and prosecutors, ongoing emotional distress and what she says is the need to protect herself. Knox defends her behavior immediately following the crime, which many have pointed to as the reason for their suspicions, and details her continuing efforts to try to understand and reach out to the family of Meredith Kercher.

The 90 minute CNN broadcast “Amanda Knox: The Unanswered Questions,” a special interview with Chris Cuomo, airs Tuesday, May 7th at 10:30pm ET on CNN.

“I find it incredible that despite an absolute lack of evidence that connects me to this murder, I am still being judged based upon unrealistic and unreasonable expectations about how a young woman would react to a horrible situation. No one knows how they would react to a horrible situation until it happens to them.” Knox says. “I have cried. I have been angry. I have been scared. And these were all things… that I have shown, that have come out of me.”

Italian prosecutor and police theories that she was involved in a sex game gone horribly wrong are “absurd,” according to Knox. “No one has ever claimed that I was ever taking part in deviant sexual activity. None of my roommates, none of my friends, none of the people who knew me there. This is simply coming out of the prosecution.” Knox adds, “I was not strapping on leather and bearing a whip. I have never done that. I have never taken part in an orgy. Ever.” Knox also discusses the drug use police claim fueled her alleged crime.

Knox tells Cuomo she is “shocked” there will be a retrial, because “there’s no evidence against me. There is nothing that links me to this murder. I am not present at the crime scene. I am just not.” However, Knox says she is considering whether she will return to face Italian justice even though, she says, “I’m afraid to go back there.” “In Italy,” Knox tells Cuomo, “people think it’s arrogant of me to sit here in the United States, and have a book come out, and to defend myself.” She continues, “First of all, I find that incredibly unfair because I have the right to defend myself. And no one can ask me to just shut up because it’s convenient. But at the same time, I want to prove to them that I care about what’s going on.” Knox also discusses the Kercher family’s feelings about her and why their Italian lawyer helped press for a retrial.

Knox opens up about the psychological and emotional toll she continues to pay after five years under suspicion, four of those spent behind bars. Describing a panic attack she had this past weekend, Knox reveals, “I sit in my hotel room and cry so loud the security calls the room because the person next door has heard me crying. It’s really hard for me to talk to people about it. It’s like as soon as I allow myself to cry, I can’t stop.”

During the interview, Cuomo notes that Knox’s hands look like they have injuries, and she admits she is undergoing intense self-defense training. “I’ve received death threats since I’ve been home,” Knox tells Cuomo. “And I don’t ever want to be caught in a situation that Meredith was caught in where someone is able to overpower me because I just don’t know what to do.” Knox adds, “There are not normal people who are fixated on me. And I don’t know what they’re capable of. I don’t.”

Chris Cuomo is the co-host of CNN’s upcoming morning show “New Day,” which will premiere weekdays on June 10th from 6-9am ET with Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira. Since joining CNN a few months ago, Cuomo has helped lead coverage on all major news stories, including the Boston attacks, papal conclave, State of the Union address and Christopher Dorner pursuit. The award-winning anchor and correspondent came from ABC News where he anchored “20/20” and “Good Morning America.”

CNN Worldwide is a portfolio of two dozen news and information services across cable, satellite, radio, wireless devices and the Internet in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Domestically, CNN reaches more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other cable TV news organization in the United States; internationally, CNN is the most widely distributed news channel reaching more than 271 million households abroad; and CNN Digital is a top network for online news, mobile news and social media. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with hundreds of local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company.

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